Hidden Reminiscences of The Gardens Between is a shifting story about childhood finest associates, providing an gratifying VR tackle the flatscreen indie puzzler. Learn on for our full assessment.
In case you’re somebody who performed 2018’s The Gardens Between on flatscreen platforms, Hidden Reminiscences is a curious growth on a narrative I thought-about one and executed. It is extra of an expanded retread than a sequel, including a brand new opening a long time later that shortly returns to acquainted floor. These new additions might not warrant a second playthrough, but this VR adaptation nonetheless delivers a ravishing story.
What’s it?: An expanded VR adaptation of time manipulation puzzler The Gardens Between with combined actuality assist.
Platforms: Quest, PC VR (reviewed on Quest 3)
Launch Date: August 7, 2025
Developer/Writer: The Voxel Brokers
Worth: $19.99
Exploring this world from a third-person perspective, you are tasked with manipulating time to information Arina and Frendt throughout every island, which catchingly mixes beautiful surroundings with on a regular basis objects. Hidden Reminiscences of The Gardens Between efficiently invokes childhood nostalgia via colourful but charmingly surreal imagery, whether or not that is the outsized couch with a popcorn bowl atop a rock formation or seeing big bicycles within the distance.
The whole lot is managed via a pleasingly easy management scheme, and you do not instantly transfer every character throughout every atmosphere. As a substitute, you alter the movement of time by shifting your hand proper (accelerating) or left (reversing). Arina and Frendt each comply with a pre-determined course with some potential diverging paths relying in your inputs.
Quest 3 gameplay footage with hand-tracking controls, captured by UploadVR
Hand-tracking controls really feel like a pure match for this minimalist scheme and use a pinch movement to work together with objects, whereas movement controllers merely require a set off press. It is comfortably performed with one hand too, making this a great selection if accessibility is a priority. Pinching objects to work together with them with out dragging your hand in a set course feels straightforward sufficient too, although VR interactivity is relatively fundamental.
Hidden Reminiscences of The Gardens Between has virtually no consolation choices obtainable, although this is not a sport that wants them. Since you’re enjoying from a third-person perspective up shut or at a distance, both in VR or combined actuality, you will not discover the same old locomotion choices for motion. All you possibly can actually do is flip off controller vibrations or regulate the audio.
Due to the minimal button inputs being mirrored throughout each palms, this does not require a particular left-handed mode, both.
Your purpose is to move a pink orb to a portal at every island’s peak utilizing your lantern, steadily introducing extra advanced mechanics. For instance, some flowers comprise a required orb you should utilize to activate a bridge. Different flowers may robotically take up your orbs should you stroll previous them, leaving you with no rapid technique of getting one other. That may be an issue if, say, you encounter a darkish cloud that is solely crossable with a lightweight supply. Likewise, some cloud paths can solely be walked over with out an orb.
There is a honest problem curve that will get more and more more difficult, and these ranges stay nicely designed (often) with an identifiable logic to fixing them. Paying shut consideration is essential as some clues are extra apparent than others. Annoyingly, a number of ranges halfway via would go away me feeling stumped on what I am presupposed to do. Finally determining the answer in these moments typically feels extra irritating than rewarding.
Screenshots taken by UploadVR on Quest 3
One of the vital adjustments in Hidden Reminiscences of The Gardens Between is how every island now seems like a rotatable diorama the place you seize the bottom to vary your viewpoint. This neatly incorporates combined actuality assist on Quest 3, which has turn out to be my most well-liked solution to play, and Hidden Reminiscences additionally contains non-obligatory up-close views in absolutely immersive environments solely.
These altering viewpoints do not have an effect on the puzzles in a significant sense, and it is largely the identical lovely sport we beforehand noticed seven years in the past. Sadly, getting up shut highlights how the decision is not notably sharp on Quest 3. There’s additionally a barely jarring black border that you simply see should you transfer too far out when utilizing a stationary boundary, which is not nice. Whereas we previewed this on Steam, we have not acquired entry to the complete PC VR version but, so I can not pretty evaluate the 2.
Quest 3 gameplay footage captured by UploadVR
Very like earlier than, this brief marketing campaign wants roughly 3-4 hours and does not outstay its welcome. Hidden Reminiscences provides some welcome replayability throughout every stage with new collectible objects that go into Arina’s diary, supplying you with a brand new scene that helps us study extra concerning the pair. Discovering the entire set can require messing round with objects, like discovering a ticket inside a chocolate wrapper, which is good because it turns into a extra concerned course of than simply hide-and-seek.
Nonetheless, this new function feels relatively minimal and I am not naturally inclined to seek out all of the objects. It is moments like this the place Hidden Reminiscences’ flatscreen roots are obvious. Even so, I am happy to see The Voxel Brokers additional develop Arina and Frendt throughout this wordless story. The ending is comparatively abrupt, and I am going to replace this if I study there is a new or expanded ending after accumulating all of the objects. Nonetheless, this conclusion leaves me feeling emotional.
Hidden Reminiscences of The Gardens Between Evaluation – Last Verdict
Whilst you can inform this wasn’t initially designed for VR or combined actuality, Hidden Reminiscences of The Gardens Between is a charming journey that touchingly portrays the acquainted ache of a buddy shifting away. This homes a compelling story about childhood creativeness that is fantastically surreal, and taking the diorama method introduces an intriguing perspective to this present story.
A number of points hold this from turning into a necessary suggestion, nevertheless: the Quest 3 decision is not the sharpest, just a few ranges turn out to be relatively irritating, and the expanded content material is not sufficient should you beforehand beat the unique sport. Nonetheless, The Voxel Brokers largely does this chilled-out puzzle journey justice in VR, and it is price contemplating should you’re after one thing totally different.
UploadVR makes use of a 5-Star ranking system for our sport evaluations – you possibly can learn a breakdown of every star ranking in our assessment tips.
